Europe
European Court of Auditors refuse to sign off EU accounts for 15th year in a row;
Open Europe publishes new list of examples of EU waste
In its report on the 2008 EU budget, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) has refused to sign off on how the money from the EU's 2008 budget had been spent. While saying that the overall situation is improving, the Court noted that a number of spending areas in the budget are still "materially affected by errors". These include the EU's policies on cohesion; research, energy and transport; external aid and enlargement; and part of the agricultural programme.
However, the ECA gave an unqualified, or clean opinion, on the reliability of the 2008 EU accounts. This means that the Court considers the EU Commission's accounts to present a fair and accurate picture of how much money was spent out of the EU budget.
The Court concluded that cohesion policy, or the Structural funds, which is the second largest spending area in the budget (representing almost a third of the budget), "remains problematic and is the area most affected by errors." The Court estimated that at least 11% of the total amount paid out in grants from the Structural Funds should not have been paid out in the first place.
Crucially the auditors note, that "In many situations the errors are a consequence of too complex rules and regulations. Simplification, therefore, remains a priority."
"Agriculture and natural resources" - part of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) - were given a clean bill of health for the first time.
Meanwhile, Agence Europe reports that when asked about the European Commission's recent mid-term review of the EU budget, in which it called for reduced spending on the Common Agricultural Policy, French Agriculture Minister Bruno Le Maire replied: "No I don't agree. I believe that is a major mistake."
In order to illustrate problems with the EU budget, Open Europe today publishes a new 'top 50' list of examples of EU waste, and a short briefing on the Court's report.
ECA report ECA press release Open Europe press release Open Europe's 50 new examples of EU waste
David Miliband rules himself out of running for EU Foreign Minister job
The BBC reports that Foreign Secretary David Miliband has ruled himself out of the running for the EU Foreign Minister job, telling the head of the European Socialists, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, that he is not interested. The Prime Minister's spokesman said yesterday, "The prime minister has no intention of nominating David Miliband, because that is not an eventuality that is actually going to happen, on the basis that David Miliband has made it clear that he doesn't want the job."
The Telegraph reports that Martin Schulz, the head of the Socialist bloc in the European Parliament, confirmed yesterday that Mr Miliband had fully ruled himself out, adding: "Mr Miliband already told me some time ago he would not be standing".
EurActiv reports that speculation around the Foreign Minister role is now likely to turn to other leading European centre-left politicans, including former Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema, Romanian MEP Adrian Severin, former German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and former French EU Affairs Minister Elisabeth Guigou.
However, the Times reports that David Miliband's surprise trip to Berlin yesterday for the anniversary celebrations of the fall of the Berlin Wall was his "strongest signal that he is interested in leaving the Government" to become EU Foreign Minister. Italian paper Corriere della Sera suggests that Gordon Brown has "relaunched" the candidacy of Miliband, which the newspaper sees as a "move by London against D'Alema".
Meanwhile, writing on Conservative Home, Conservative MEP Charles Tannock argues that "Hardline eurosceptics dislike the idea of the EU having its own foreign policy apparatus at all. But the reality is that the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) has existed for the best part of two decades since it was inaugurated by EU leaders including John Major as part of the Maastricht treaty in 1993...By adding Britain's voice to the voices of others we can potentially achieve much more within the framework of the CFSP than outside it by remaining constructively engaged."
Economist: Charlemagne notebook BBC EurActiv BBC: Robinson blog Telegraph FT Express Times Guardian Conservative Home: Tannock Corriere della Sera
Government shelves expansion of powers to snoop on internet habits, phone calls, emails and texts
The Guardian and the Independent report that the Home Office has shelved plans known as the "interception modernisation programme", which would have allowed as many as 653 public bodies to access information regarding citizens' phone calls, text messages, internet traffic and emails. The plan has been dropped from the Queen's Speech next week following concerns raised by internet service providers and mobile phone operators over the project's feasibility, and anxieties over who would foot the bill.
The new rules would not only have forced communications companies to keep their records for longer, but also to expand the type of data they keep to include details of every website their customers visit, effectively registering every online click. It would not have required the permission of a judge or a magistrate to obtain the information, but simply the authorisation of a senior police officer or the equivalent of a deputy head of department at a local authority.
Comment: While this current piece of legislation will be delayed, under the EU's Data Retention Directive, which the Government supported, telecoms companies will still be required to hold details of the destination of every phone call, text message and email that citizens send for a period of 12 months. Existing UK legislation, the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA), already grants authorities access to this data on the grounds of investigating terrorism.
Independent Guardian Mail Open Europe press release Open Europe research
Swedish PM: A Franco-German consensus is not enough to decide EU top jobs
EUobserver reports Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said yesterday that consultations on filling the EU's new posts are only "half-way" through, warning that a Franco-German deal alone is not sufficient to reach a consensus. The Swedish PM also said that the Secretary General of the Council of Ministers position will be decided on, with the President and Foreign Minister job, a post currently merged with the High Representative for Foreign Policy, Javier Solana, but due to be separated by the Lisbon Treaty.
Poland has made a bid to give smaller EU countries more power in the selection process for the EU President job, calling for candidates to hold job interviews in front of the 27 EU leaders, EUobserver also notes. However, Belgian daily GVA reports that the EU President will be appointed this Thursday.
On his Coulisses de Bruxelles blog, French journalist Jean Quatremer says that the "complete absence of democracy and transparency [surrounding the nominations of the EU president and foreign affairs minister]...represents a missed opportunity to get EU institutions and citizens closer...The European Parliament, which will debate on Wednesday 11 November the profile of the EU president post, which is too late to have any real impact, has not done much to improve the situation."
Meanwhile, a leader in the Times argues that "In order to avoid consulting the voters, in country after country the public was informed that the Lisbon treaty was a mere 'tidying up exercise' designed to allow an expanded European Union to operate. The Council needed a chairman, because rotation through so many countries wouldn't work. There was nothing of constitutional importance for anyone to worry about. Having made this argument and legislated on this basis, it is not now open to European leaders to appoint a "traffic-stopping" president rather than a smooth chairman...All of this means that the leaders of Europe should not appoint Tony Blair."
Times: Leader EUobserver EUobserver 2 GVA Volkskrant Standaard Gazeta.pl CoulissesDeBruxelles
EU Commission to call for UK to bring budget deficit under control by 2015
The Independent reports that the European Commission will propose tomorrow that the UK's budget deficit be brought down from a prospective 12 percent of GDP to 3 per cent by 2014-15, requiring tax increases and public spending cuts, which the article describes as: "yet unimagined by the main political parties". It would mean about £25bn in spending cuts and tax rises every year.
The Commission will also ask Germany, France and Spain to bring their budget deficits under control by 2013, to take them below the formal Maastricht criteria limit of 3 percent, a rule that was de facto suspended during the financial crisis. Italy will be required to do so by 2012 and Ireland by 2014, reports EUobserver. EU finance ministers will discuss the recommendations in December.
Meanwhile, FT Deutschland has an article noting a sense of outrage expressed by EU finance ministers about the situation in Greece, where the new government suddenly revised upwards the deficit projections from 6 to 12%, citing statistical discrepancies. The EU has lost confidence in Greek statistics, and is now demanding, as a first step, the independence of the country's statistics bureau.
Independent Irish Times EUobserver FTD FT
An article in the Times notes that none of the Government's proposed new nuclear power plants, costing £4bn each, will be ready before eight coal-fired plants are due to close due to the EU's Large Combustion Plant Directive.
Times
The Coulisses de Bruxelles blog reports that the Czech government has revealed it spent €125 million of Czech taxpayers' money on its recent presidency of the EU.
Coulisses de Bruxelles
El Pais reports that the European Space Agency and Nasa have signed a letter of intent to put together a joint mission to Mars in 2016. The agreement was signed in Washington after the Obama administration recently agreed the funds for the project.
El Pais
According to the poll conducted by GKF Polonia for Polish daily Rzeczpospolita, 73% of Poles are afraid that Poland is losing its sovereignty to the EU.
Wprost24
FAZ reports that one of the biggest associations of EU employers, Business Europe, is worried about the overregulation of financial markets. Its President, Juergen Thuman, says he approves of the responses that European governments and the European Commission have taken to the economic crisis but disapproves of public and legal regulations on bonuses and incentives.
FAZ
Open Europe is an independent think tank campaigning for radical reform of the EU. For information on our research, events and other activities, please visit our website: openeurope.org.uk or call us on 0207 197 2333.
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